Good events don’t sell themselves. The ones that sell out usually do a few simple things well: they start with the fans they already have, they give people a reason to buy now rather than later, and they measure what works so the next campaign is better. Here are twelve ideas you can use for your next event, in the order you’ll need them.
Before tickets go on sale
1. Start with the fans you already have. The people who came last time are the most likely to come again. With Eventworks, your attendee list is yours, and you can email an event’s attendees straight from the dashboard. Tell them first, before anyone else.
2. Announce the on-sale time in advance. “Tickets on sale Friday at 10am” creates a moment people plan for. Schedule the on-sale to the minute, so it opens exactly when you said.
3. Sell from your own website. Embed your shop on your own site with one line of code, in your colours and with your terms. Fans stay with you from the first click to the ticket, and every visit builds your brand, not someone else’s.
4. Add tracking before you spend on ads. Add your Meta pixel and Google Tag Manager to your event and your shop. Then you can see which campaigns sell tickets, and show ads to people who visited but didn’t buy.
While tickets are selling
5. Price in tiers, starting with early birds. A small early bird allocation that sells out quickly is your first piece of news, and every tier that ends gives fans a reason to buy today. We explain how to set them up in Early bird tickets: how to price your festival tiers.
6. Give promoters their own links. Promoters, clubs, venues and ambassadors can sell for you, each with their own link and commission per event or ticket type. You see exactly who is selling, and promoters can even sell through their own sub-resellers.
7. Hand out codes with a purpose. A code for your sponsors’ staff, one for a partner’s newsletter, one for last year’s most loyal fans. Each code tells you which partnership worked.
8. Time your news with your deadlines. Line-up announcements, a new stage, a special guest: land each one just before a tier ends, so the news and the reason to buy arrive together.
9. Make it easy to come as a group. Group tickets, day tickets and VIP options give more people a way in. Friends who buy together also spread the word together.
10. Sell the extras at checkout. Parking, merch, a drinks voucher or an upgrade: add-ons at checkout make the night easier for fans and raise what each order is worth.
In the final weeks
11. Don’t lose the fans who missed out. When a tier or a date sells out, a waiting list collects everyone who still wants in, ready for your next release or your next event.
12. Remind, then thank. Email ticket holders before the event with the times, the entry details and anything they need to know, and invite them to bring a friend. After the event, thank them and tell them when the next one is. That email is the start of your next campaign.
Measure, then repeat
After every event, look at what sold and where the sales came from: which promoter, which code, which campaign, which day. Your reports show sales, page views, attendees and resellers, and everything exports to CSV. Keep what worked, drop what didn’t, and start the next campaign from there.
See the marketing tools on our marketing and resellers page, or book a demo and we’ll plan your next on-sale with you.
Leave a Reply